This limited film series will examine the continued cinematic fascination with Richard III, King of England (1452-85; r. 1483-85). As works of medievalism - the representation and re-imagination of the Middle Ages - these movies (at times via Shakespeare's play) seek to place the complicated figure of the king, the internal and external politics of war, and the limits of governmental power within the twentieth century.

Library: John F. Kennedy LibraryLocation: KB - Meeting Room

Other Information:

Directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price, this remake of the 1939 film by the same name bridges the medieval world of Richard III with themes found in Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and the director's own interests in the celebrated writer's concepts of madness, terror, and the supernatural. As such, this film becomes a core entry in Corman's (and Poe's) concept of the Middle Ages.